It seems films and TV series about comic books are a dime a dozen these days. Pretty much every other premise to make it into production seems to have its origin on the colored page. While some of these comic book adaptations crash and burn and others are rightfully lauded, some go on to be great without the recognition they deserve.
Preacherwas a 66-issue Vertigo comic book series by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon which ran from 1996 to 2001. Ennis is perhaps best-known today for another adaptation of his work, Eric Kripke’sAmazon Prime take onThe Boys. Before a single episode of that series dropped, however,Preacherwas bringing much of the same outstanding action, comedy, and satire, with a few extra tricks of its own.
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The first attempt to adapt Ennis’s work to the small screen came in 2006, when Mark Steven Johnson, writer/directorof both 2003’sDaredeviland 2007’sGhost Rider,pitched the series to HBO. That project fell through shortly thereafter, when Johnson, who insisted that the adaptation remain precisely faithful, refused to tone down the explicit violence throughout. In 2008, Columbia Pictures picked up the rights to make a film out of the series with Sam Mendes set to direct, but he bowed out to take overSkyfall. D.J. Caruso, director ofDisturbiaandI Am Number Four, then took the director’s chair, but he too backed away, and the project fell through.Preacherwas silent until 2013when Seth Rogen and hislongtime partner Evan Goldberg set to work developing a pilot for AMC. The pilot dropped in May 2015, was picked up that September, andPreacherwas finally up and running.
Preacherisn’t exactly a superhero story, asfans of Ennis’s workwould suspect. It’s a southern gothic-tinged religious action horror with plenty of puerile dark comedy thrown in for fun. The tale follows Texas priest Jessie Custer, doing his best to live a godly life after a dark criminal past. During a crisis of faith, Custer finds himself blessed with the Word of God, a mysterious power that allows him to command anyone to do anything with his voice alone. With the help of his unhinged ex-girlfriend Tulip and his new drunken Irish vampire best friend Cassidy, Custer sets out on a cross-country quest to understand his new calling and find God. The trio is pitted against immortal angels, unstoppable revenants, and mad Nazi scientists as they pursue their unusual goal. It’s a wild ride that transcends the largest imaginable scale while remaining deeply personal.
The action on display may not be working with the power level of theaverage supe fromThe Boys, but it is among the most inventive action series of the modern era. Most of the main characters are working with the typical human powers, cranked up to often absurd levels for excitement, but the few that don’t have such powers are extremely well-handled. The human characters are portrayed as somewhere between a UFC heavyweight champion and Bruce Wayne in combat capabilities, but they are always reasonably fallible. There’s staggering cruelty in the fight scenes that causes every punch or grab to evoke a visceral wince from the audience. The series features countless brilliantly executed action scenes, from hand-to-hand brawls to shootouts, to trading blows with surgical equipment. It’s regularly a tough watch, but it’s also extremely engaging.
All three of the main leads are extremely fun characters, often divided into multiple exciting plot lines. Custer is portrayed by Dominic Cooper, possibly best known otherwise as young HowardStark in the MCU. Custer is a complex character, constantly shifting along his own moral spectrum as he struggles to be good and keeps being forced or enticed to do bad. Dragging him along is Tulip, played admirably by Ruth Negga. Negga brings a surprising amount of intimidation to the role, while also commanding an easy charisma that makes her enjoyable. Finally, Cassidy, the unstoppable addict, is portrayed by Joe Gilgun. Most fans agree few actors in comic book adaptations haveso fully embodied their characteras Gilgun has Cassidy. He’s often unfairly sidelined as the comic relief, but his solo arc in the second season is extremely compelling TV, and he’s a ton of fun throughout.
Preacher, both the comic book and the TV series, isn’t for everybody. It’s gleefully immature, overwhelmingly violent, powerfully grim, and unreasonably cruel.Fans ofThe Boys, however, would see all of that as a plus and should dive in right away. The tales of Jessie Custer, Tulip O’Hare, and Proinsias Cassidy are cult favorites on the comic book page and unfairly ignored luminaries of the TV adaptation.Preacherdeserves a lot more credit for its contributions to the world of comic book TV, and its considerable merits in its own right. All four seasons are available to stream now on Hulu, for anyone who wants to finally see this hidden blessing.
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